The Way I Look At You
by HannibabestheCannibabes
Summary: On a weekend conference in New York, Zara manages to drag her boss wedding dress shopping. Zearing fluff. Claire/Zara.
1. Chapter 1

**The Way I Look At You**

'How do I look?'

'Oh fine, just fine.'

'Claire!' The Operations Manager looked up from her phone just in time to catch her assistant rolling her eyes at her angrily. 'I don't want to look _fine_. This is my wedding day, I want to look _gorgeous_.' Zara turned around to examine her back in the dress, frowning slightly. 'So how do I look?'

'Erm…' Claire tilted her head. 'You look nice. Really nice.' At the exasperated sigh from her assistant, she shrugged. 'To be honest, Zara, I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for. I didn't even go wedding dress shopping with my sister, and she begged me.'

'If I'd known you were going to be this useless…' she muttered as she continued to stand in front of the mirror, hands on her hips, examining herself thoroughly.

Zara Young had expected her employer to be slightly more helpful than she was turning out to be. Masrani had sent Claire to New York for the weekend to attend a conference on 'Management in Genetics Engineering'…or some crap, Zara hadn't really paid a great deal of attention. All she'd heard was 'weekend break in New York'. It wasn't that she disliked working on an island in the middle of nowhere, of course, she'd actually rather warmed to Jurassic World over the course of her employment. But she missed the city: the bars, the noise, the people. And, of course, wedding planning was incredibly difficult when the only clothes sold by the island shop all had pictures of tyrannosaurs on them. So, seeing as Claire's conference didn't begin until the afternoon, Zara had thought she could take her wedding dress shopping. Claire had good style, no reason that wouldn't transfer to wedding dresses, right?

 _How naïve._

'Ok, erm…face forward, stand still.' Claire directed, ignoring the smirk on Zara's face as she followed instruction. 'I mean, the colour really suits you so you should stick with that…'

'It's white, Claire, I'm hardly going to pick any other colour for my wedding dress.'

'I just don't know. I'm sorry, Zara, but I've never been interested in any of this. I've never considered the whole wedding thing, work's just always come first.'

'This could be you one day. That is if you ever actually left your office and met anyone…'

Claire thought she was saved as the shop assistant entered the room, smiling in the way all shop assistants do when they think they have a definite sale ahead of them, and interrupted Zara before she had chance to start another dating speech. Since her most recent disastrous attempts at dating ( _honestly, who wears board shorts and orders tequila on a first date?_ ) she'd resigned herself to being single permanently, something she couldn't really say she was thrilled about, but something her sister and now assistant definitely weren't happy about.

'I assume you'll be trying on, as well?'

Claire frowned at the assistant, who seemed to be speaking to her, aware that she seemed to have missed a rather large and important part of the conversation. Zara was now back in her own clothes, dress out of sight. 'I'm sorry?'

'A dress? You'll want to try one on too? Unless you already have one?'

'No, I don't already have one…'

'That's wonderful, what sort of style were you thinking of? Or maybe we should start with colour. White? Cream? Ivory?' The assistant was still smiling as she turned to the rack of dresses on one wall and began to look through them. 'I'm not sure I'd really advise cream, giving your skin tone, but you would look lovely in white…'

Claire felt her eyes widen in horror as her brain finally caught up with the conversation. 'Oh no. No. I don't think…'

'If you're concerned about the whole 'not seeing the bride before the wedding' thing, you don't need to be. We get a lot of couples in here. Easiest way to make sure the dresses don't clash.'

'Now, that was one of Claire's biggest worries when we started planning this wedding. See, darling, now we can check we don't clash.' Zara walked over to her boss and lightly squeezed her arm, an amused smirk on her face. Claire felt herself blush.

'Zara, what are you...? We have a really tight schedule.'

'Wedding planning can be stressful, can't it?' The assistant asked. 'I know when I arranged mine, I was running around so much I ended up needing the dress taking in because I just wasn't finding the time to eat! But you can't plan anything else without having your dress first, surely?'

'You are absolutely right. Isn't she, darling?' Zara put her arm around her employer's waist tightly. Claire felt herself blush harder at the touch. 'Now, you go get undressed and we'll pass some through. I can tell the assistant what you want.' She gave the other woman a gentle push towards the changing room.

'Zara…' Claire's eyes seemed to be pleading with her assistant to drop the charade, let her off, but Zara just smiled and sat down on the leather sofa opposite the changing cubicles.

With Claire out of earshot, Zara turned to the shop assistant. 'Now, I know it sounds crazy, but she's always loved the idea of a big dress. Meringue style. Do you have any of those?' The assistant nodded eagerly and practically ran to find a couple to take to Claire. Once she was gone, Zara leant back on the sofa with a wicked grin. She wouldn't make Claire try many on, maybe just one or two ridiculous ones, just enough to punish her for being so unhelpful. Just see how uncomfortable she could make her boss. Maybe even give her a kiss, just to watch her blush even further. On Isla Nublar, Claire Dearing was undoubtedly the boss. But out here, this was Zara's turn.

She suddenly felt a buzzing in her pocket and she pulled out her phone. _Her fiancé_. She rejected the call almost instantly with a roll of her eyes. Zara would call him back at some point. Maybe sometime in the week, maybe next weekend if she got busy. _She really hoped she'd get busy_. It wasn't that she didn't care, she just...didn't care. Besides, seeing Claire in the dress was going to be far more important.

It was a few more minutes before the curtains of the changing cubicle rippled and then opened. The shop assistant exited first, having needed to have been in to help Claire with the ridiculous dress her assistant had picked out for her. It was white, and huge, with more bows than she ever wanted to see on any item of clothing designed for anyone over the age of 5. The top was tightly corseted and, even just a couple of minutes in, it was beginning to cause bruising, she felt. But she wasn't going to let Zara win by refusing to try it on. Still, she prepared herself for laughter as she stepped into the shop and stood in front of the raven haired woman on the couch.

'Oh, Claire…'

'Yes?'

 _This was not what she'd expected_. Zara had expected to be speechless, but through laughter, not through…this. 'The dress looks…you look…'

'Doesn't she just look lovely?' The assistant was beaming now, certain that this was the dress that would give her a sale today.

'Quite.' This was not right. Zara felt her whole body almost pulsing, desperate to stand up, to close the gap between herself and the woman before her. Her fingers were itching to feel Claire's waist in the dress, her mouth dry with the thought of placing kisses across her collar bones. _She was beautiful_.

'We really do have a tight schedule. I have a meeting in an hour,' Claire said aloud, to no-one in particular, unnerved by Zara's silence. The sales assistant nodded and led her back into the changing room, Claire's skin burning with the feel of Zara's eyes on her back.

'Did you see your fiancée's face as you walked out in this dress?' The assistant asked as she began untying the corset, finally allowing Claire to breathe again.

'Fiancée? Oh yes…Zara.' The Operations Manager shook her head. 'Not quite what I expected.' _Laughter would have been fine. The silent judgement not quite so forgivable_.

'She not usually that emotional?'

'I'm sorry?'

'You're very lucky.'

'Lucky?' Claire almost scoffed, the look on Zara's face almost burnt into her mind. 'I'm not so sure...'

'You know, like I said, we get a lot of couples in this shop. A lot more than you'd think. A range as well, not just women. We get men and women too.' She nodded, as if it was important Claire didn't leave the shop thinking its only clientele were lesbians. 'But I have never seen anyone look at their fiancée the way yours looks at you. You're very lucky. I mean, she's beautiful as well. But the way she looks at you, that's what most people spend their whole lives looking for, you know?'

'Really?' Claire felt her heart begin to pound a little, her head slightly spinning. 'You think that's how she looked at me?'

'If my husband had ever looked at me like that, we'd still be married. No, trust me, the way she looked at you, she'd walk to the ends of the Earth for you, all you'd need do is ask.'

Claire couldn't stop herself from smiling.

Zara was already stood by the store doors, bag over her arm, when Claire finally exited the changing room. 'Your meeting starts in 25 minutes. I've already flagged down a taxi, he's waiting outside.'

'Thank you.' Claire was trying to study her assistant's face, but she couldn't see anything different in it, she seemed to look at her the way she always did.

'What about the dress?' The sales assistant called out hopefully.

'We'll be back at some point. She has a sister who'll want to see it first,' Zara explained dismissively, before holding the door open for Claire, and walking her over to the waiting cab. 'Come on, can't have you falling behind in your itinerary for the day, you'd never recover.'

'There is nothing wrong with having a daily schedule.' Claire rolled her eyes as she climbed in.

'You've yet to find a date to agree with you there.' She smirked before catching Claire's angry glare. 'Oh, don't worry, I know. I love your itineraries.' Zara shrugged as she slammed the door and sat back. 'Just a shame I'm taken.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Management in Genetics Engineering. Management in Genetics Engineering. Claire whispered to herself before lying back exasperated on her hotel bed. _Oh fuck._ Who cares about management in Genetics Engineering, anyway? Surely there were more important things to think about? Like maybe her very suddenly confused feelings towards her assistant? _Double fuck_.

The afternoon meeting had proved pointless, of course. She'd sat there attentively, listening to every word spoken, though whether she actually understood anything was a different matter. She'd even taken notes in almost auto-pilot mode, but they made no sense once she read them back. She seemed entirely incapable of getting Zara off her mind, not after the incident in the store earlier. Zara didn't look at her like that, surely? She had a fiancé. She was planning a wedding. Claire was just her irritatingly high maintenance employer; of course there wasn't anything there. But maybe…

 _This was ridiculous_. Claire shook her head against the mattress. She wasn't gay. She knew she wasn't gay. Her luck with men might not have been great, but she was still interested in the possibility of dating them. And thinking that possibly one woman might be interested in her was not enough to make a person bisexual, surely? She hadn't even considered Zara before the shop assistant mentioned her. Well, she had noticed she was attractive, but that was purely observation. And she was smart. Funny. Charming. She was always there when Claire needed her, far more than her job required of her. She was at Claire's suite in a heartbeat after the last failed date, bottle of wine already in hand. And she'd stayed with her all night when Claire asked her to, the only person Claire had wanted to see following such an awful evening…

 _Ah_. Everything suddenly seemed to finally dawn on the Operations Manager as she lay alone on her bed. _Fuck indeed_.

* * *

Zara sat alone at the hotel bar later that evening, staring into her cocktail, occasionally dipping a finger in and bringing it up to her mouth to taste absentmindedly. The bartenders glanced over at the sight of her, and some whispered to each other with a giggle. Not that she noticed. Her mind was elsewhere.

Specifically, her mind was with her boss. The sight of Claire in the shop that afternoon she'd found impossible to shake, however much she tried. Not just the sight of Claire, either, but what that sight had done to her. Of course, Zara knew how attractive her employer was. From just the interview for the assistant position, she'd known she was attracted to Claire Dearing. It had been half the reason she took the job. But then, who wouldn't be attracted to Claire? Smart, successful, stylish, and not to mention beautiful. She'd never really given it a second thought. However, the store. Zara had never felt like that before. The almost speechlessness. The sudden, pulsing desire. The need to touch her, anywhere, but the fear that even a brush of fingers would expose her. That wasn't just attraction. Attraction was soft and subtle and commonplace. The feeling that afternoon was like she was suddenly wide open, the entirety of her being exposed, and she was empty, incomplete. That only one being could restore her, could build her back up, but even then she'd be different, she could never be the same again.

 _Ridiculous. Just ridiculous_. Zara scoffed, shaking her head. It was just a moment. Only a moment in a shop. She was thinking about it like the rest of her life was changed, like the sight of Claire looking better than expected in a dress was enough to completely alter her whole life. _Just absurd_. Zara returned to stirring her cocktail with her finger. _Maybe if she drank more, everything would make more sense…_

'Zara.' She turned around to see Claire stood only feet away, a slightly anxious smile on her face. 'I thought you were going to wait for me? That's what we agreed, isn't it?'

'Sorry, I was ready so early, I thought I'd come down and order in advance. Sit down.' She gestured to the seat beside her, and pushed a cocktail towards her employer. 'Mojito, made specifically as you like it. The bartender nearly had a fit when I started giving him instructions, but that's men for you, really.' It was only at that moment that she really took notice of Claire, the slightly heavier than usual make-up on her face, the low-cut cocktail dress, the incredibly expensive looking heels. She felt her heartbeat quicken. 'My God, Claire, where have you been hiding this?

Claire blushed and shook her head. 'I already feel overdressed. Maybe I should change. I just thought…'

'No. No. You look…beautiful. Actually beautiful.' Every inch of her was screaming to touch Claire. To feel her, skin against skin. Zara settled with just squeezing her hand. Claire blushed even harder at the touch.

'It's the same dress I wore on my last date,' Claire said before taking a sip of her drink. 'I thought it could maybe do with another outing, before I started associating it with board shorts and tequila.'

'If I wore board shorts on a date while you were wearing that, not only would I have died from embarrassment, but I'd probably also resign and move halfway across the World.' Zara shrugged, and Claire felt herself give a small smile into her drink. 'Though maybe I'd still order the tequila, if just to mask my shame.'

'If only the date had been with you then,' Claire tried to joke, but the words seemed to fall heavy between the two women, and silence accompanied them. Both women silently had a sip from their drinks, both their hearts pounding, yet unheard by the other.

After a few moments, with the silence thick, Zara finally spoke. 'How was the conference? Or the meeting, or whatever it was?'

'Good. It was good. They spoke a lot about quotas, and asset management, which will be of huge benefit with the new attraction currently in development. Profit margins were also discussed, and how best to follow new genetics advancements…'

'You didn't pay any attention, did you?' Zara asked, eyebrows raised. At Claire's silence, she felt herself smirk. 'You didn't pay attention in the meeting we were sent here for? What are you going to tell Masrani?'

'I made notes. And the minutes will be emailed around anyway.'

'So you're going to spend three hours reading up on the meeting you already spent three hours in? That seems logical.'

'I had something more pressing on my mind,' Claire blurted out, inwardly cursing as she did so. 'I needed to think something through and it just happened to be during the meeting. I know it's not ideal, but I can fit it in. The flight back to Isla Nublar should give me long enough.'

'You were going to read Dr Wu's asset report on the flight back.'

'Then I read the minutes tomorrow night. It'll get done.' Claire peered down the bar before flagging the bartender. 'Another drink, Zara? Any maybe a seat somewhere that isn't so open? I'm not sure Masrani would be too happy if anything was leaked because his Operations Manager was overheard talking about it in a hotel bar.'

* * *

They were sat later that evening in the corner of the bar, three empty cocktail glasses in front of each of them, a fourth clutched in their hands. Zara was glad to see Claire had loosened up a bit from earlier, her weird irritable outburst at the bar having been forgotten. She could only guess that Claire was annoyed about the wedding store incident, though it seemed strange to bring it up so late in the evening. Maybe the meeting really had gone badly. Maybe she had really been distracted by something. She couldn't really imagine by what.

'Did you decide on a dress then?' Claire asked, suddenly, taking another sip from her glass. At Zara's blank expression, she elaborated, 'your wedding dress. Did you decide?'

'Oh, all the dresses in the store were ghastly.' Zara shrugged, waving her free hand dismissively. 'I'll find one at some point. I have plenty of time, the wedding isn't for months yet.'

'Not for months?' Claire hadn't been expecting it to be months. She'd been thinking years. _Engagements last years normally, right?_

'The date is sometime next year, I forget exactly when. Alec boked the venue almost the day after the proposal, and then a week later I was in Jurassic World so all the details just blur into each other. I have it written down somewhere though; I think it's on my phone.' She misinterpreted Claire's shock at the date as shock at her own disorganisation, and began rummaging through her bag, trying to find her phone. 'Of course, I'll write you up an invite officially, but I can find you the date now…'

'No, it's fine. A written invite later is great for me.' Claire gave a smile, attempting to feign interest, and trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her chest at the mention of Zara's fiancé. _Zara's engaged. Of course, Zara's engaged. She's always known that, it's never bothered her this much before_. 'So Alec, you never mention him. What's he like? How did you two meet?'

Claire cursed herself silently the minute she spoke. Why? Why did she have to ask? She had always been fine with knowing the general details of Zara's engagement, she didn't need to know the specifics. How they met. How happy they were. How excited she was to be married. _Why did she even care so much?_

'Oh, we met while working in London. Our friends started dating, they wanted to double date, they invited me and Alec. We made conversation, got slightly too drunk, had disappointing sex and that's how it started.' Zara shrugged. _What sort of impression was this giving Claire?_ Her upcoming marriage was based on a forced double date and the worst sex of her life. She glanced over at her employer, trying to read into her expression. _Disappointed? Disinterested?_ No, she looked… _sad?_ 'Our friends broke up after only a couple of months, but we continued seeing each other. Then he proposed, I said yes, and that's about it.'

'That's…sweet.' Claire smiled falsely, only to be met with a roll of the eyes from her assistant. 'No, it is. I mean, it's not fairytale romance, but it's real world romance.'

'You don't need to pretend, Claire. I know your standards aren't that low, or you'd have settled for the raptor guy.'

'You're getting married though. You must…' She paused, her lips almost refusing to ask the question. 'Love…you must love him?'

'Love him?' Zara scoffed, perhaps the complete opposite reaction to the one Claire had expected. 'I've had stronger feelings towards my morning coffee. But we're a little far along now for me to turn around and say that.' At her employer's silence, she sighed again. 'I can't pretend to feel anything else, Claire. I know I should. But why else would a bride-to-be accept a job halfway across the World from her fiancé if not to avoid him at all costs, really?'

'I just didn't ever think about it.' The two women sat in silence for a moment or so, before Claire asked awkwardly, 'What about his parents?'

'His parents are awful. Upper class twats, the pair of them. But his father's well-connected, pretty much secured me every job I've had since me and Alec started dating. One reference from him and companies are dying to hire me.' She took another drink from her glass. 'Probably why I accepted the proposal, can't really turn down the guy whose father's been ensuring your employment. But I hardly need to explain that to you.'

'I'm sorry?'

'Well that's why you hired me, right? Saw the reference from one of Britain's richest businessmen and immediately decided to hire me? I mean, I wasn't really qualified for this job, at all…'

'I don't even know who you're talking about,' Claire answered, turning slightly so that her eyes could meet Zara's. 'You were hired because I wanted you for the job, not because your fiancé's father told me to hire you.'

'You must have seen it though, references were the second page. Whether you like it or not, you saw it.'

'I didn't get that far in your application form.'

'What? You just read one page?' Zara smirked, placing her glass on the table. 'You read two lines of personal information and saw my picture and just decided you wanted me?'

'Yes.' Claire answered, her heart pounding in her chest as the truth left her mouth. It could mean nothing, or it could mean everything. _It felt like everything to her_.

'That's all it took for you to want me?' Zara asked again, but lower and quieter, quiet enough for Claire to need to move closer to her, until she was close enough for Zara to reach out and rest her hand on her arm. She didn't stop herself this time.

'Yes.' Claire felt herself shiver slightly against the touch, and she felt her heart pound now loud enough to hear.

'And were you right to want me? Am I enough?'

'Yes.'

'Do you still want me, Claire?' She leant in as she spoke, to find Claire doing the same until the two were barely an inch apart. Zara felt herself grow quieter, until her words were barely a whisper against Claire's lips. Against her waist, she felt the other woman's hand, and now her heart was not merely pounding but was almost flapping inside her chest, as though it were a bird trapped under her ribcage. And the gap closed still, until she could feel the outline of Claire's lips against hers…

A smashing sound and cold liquid suddenly running down her front. Zara and Claire broke apart to see a bartender stood by their table, desperately attempting to pick up the broken glass from the surface as the cocktail ran over the tale and over the front of both the Operations Manager and her assistant. Claire stood up immediately, trying to prevent any further damage to her dress. Zara stayed sat, shame flooding her body.

'I'm sorry, I am so sorry. It just slipped out of my…can I get you anything by way of compensation? Another drink, perhaps? What were you drinking?' The bartender spoke rapidly; incredibly aware of the furious looks he was being given by the red-headed woman, who was now standing. 'I can even get you two, if you'd like? Anything. Completely on the house…'

Claire glared at him, attempting to display outwards anger, while inwardly attempting to collect her thoughts. Her head was spinning, either through the alcohol or the almost-kiss, she couldn't be sure. She glanced over at Zara, who was now staring intensely at her phone, and felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. _They had only just talked about her fiancé…_ 'No. Thank you. It's fine.'

The bartender nodded, returning quickly to the bar before either woman decided to change her mind. He watched as they exchanged a couple of words and then left, before breathing a big sigh.

* * *

Zara and Claire stood silently besides each other in the elevator, neither willing to exchange even as much as a glance. In the mirrored walls, Zara could see as Claire stared straight ahead and she felt her embarrassment heighten further. _At least it went no further. At least nothing happened that Claire could hate her for_. Work might be awkward, but this was recoverable. This wasn't a firing offence, surely? She couldn't be fired for a near-kiss?

The elevator stopped and opened and the two women stepped out, still in silence. They walked together down the hotel corridors, both making considerable care to not even brush against each other, fearing the reaction of the other. Zara stopped suddenly outside one of the rooms.

'You have a meeting tomorrow at half nine.' Claire had continued walking without her and turned around at the unexpected sound of Zara's voice. 'So if we meet here at eight, that's enough time to run through the itinerary for the day, have breakfast, and check out of the hotel.'

'Yes, of course. That's great.' Claire nodded. 'You have all the details sorted, I assume.'

'Everything is ready for tomorrow.' Zara turned and swiped her key against the door, trying not to let Claire see the disappointment across her face.

'Good night, Zara.' Claire gave a slight smile as she watched her assistant nod in return, and slip into her room. Claire nodded again, a smile still on her face, the only thing she could do to stop herself from crying bitter tears of disappointment. _She was a grown woman, she shouldn't be crying over something like this_. It was stress, or the alcohol. She wasn't really so upset about her assistant rejecting her, she couldn't be…

'Claire?' She was halfway down the corridor when she heard her name. Claire turned back around to see her assistant standing outside her door once more. At the sight of her employer stood still, a relieved smile on her face, Zara felt her pulse quicken and she began approaching the red-headed woman, who in turn walked back to meet her. Without any words, the two women met and pulled each other into a close embrace. Their lips once again hovered, before meeting in a kiss far more passionate than either had expected or experienced.

It was a few minutes before the women broke away, both of them breathless. Zara spoke first, her hand still on her employer's waist. 'And you're ok with this, Claire? We're not going to do this tonight and I wake up with my notice pinned to a wall.'

'No. No. I want…this, you. I want you.' She felt herself blush as she said it, but she never looked away from Zara's gaze. 'And Alec? Your fiancé? What happens there?'

'Tomorrow. I settle that tomorrow. Tonight, I'm all yours.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Claire was woken by the sound of shouting. Groaning, she rolled over in the bed, doing her best to ignore the noise. _Had she left the TV on? Maybe it was someone in the room next door?_ Her head was spinning, causing her stomach to turn as she tried to wriggle back into a comfy sleeping position. Claire felt something digging into her stomach, and sleepily she pulled it out from underneath her. She opened one eye to check what the interference was and sat up, the item still in hand. A bra. Not her bra.

 _Oh God._

Sat up, Claire was suddenly aware of her own lack of clothes. Next to the bed, she saw her dress from the night before crumpled on the floor, with her own underwear on top. Images from the night before started to run through her mind. The bar. The kiss. The feeling of Zara's body against hers, falling onto the bed. Zara's hands on her breasts, her mouth on her…Claire felt herself blush as she sat in the bed.

'Look, Alec, I honestly don't care what your mother thinks. No, I'm not telling her. She's your parent, not mine.'

Claire turned as she heard the bathroom door open behind her, and she sat back against the headboard, covers pulled up to preserve her modesty. _Slightly too late for that, surely?_ Zara walked in from the bathroom, phone against her ear, an irritated look on her face. She was still undressed, and Claire felt herself blush harder at the sight. At the sight of the other woman awake in the bed, Zara took the phone away from her face, her hand over the speaker.

'Sorry, Claire, did I wake you? I tried to take the call in the bathroom but it's been a bit heated. It's Alec.' She put the phone back to her ear and immediately rolled her eyes. 'Sorry, did you say something, Alec? Yes, I was just talking to my employer. Yes, the same one I fucked last night. Why? Do you want to say something?'

Claire began frantically shaking her head as Zara approached the bed, the phone outstretched in her hand. 'Look, I'm sorry, it's Alec. I told him about last night and he's gone crazy. Understandable, of course. He just wants to shout at you. You'll hardly need to talk.'

'About last night?'

'Hardly ideal, I know. He'll just shout like a twat. You won't need to do anything.' She pushed the phone into Claire's hand, who then put it hesitantly to her ear.

'Hello?'

'So you're the bastard then? The bastard who shagged my fiancée?' A male voice shouted down the phone to Claire, so loud she had to hold it inches from her ear to protect her throbbing head. Alec sounded exactly as Zara had described him the previous night, upper-class snob complete with the ridiculous English accent. It would have been hard to take him seriously had he not been so angry. 'So what did you do? See a pretty woman in your office, decide to whisk her away to New York, get her too drunk to say no? It's harassment. I'll sue you. I swear to God, I'll fucking sue you.'

'I'm sorry Mr.…Alec, it was nothing like that at all…'

'I swear to God, I'll sue you for everything you…Wait…Are you a woman? Are you a fucking woman?' Claire's eyes widened as the shouting at the end of the phone grew louder. 'Put Zara back on the phone. Put Zara back on this sodding phone right now.'

Her assistant was in the middle of redressing when Claire held the phone out to her, the expression on her face falling partway between flustered and furious. With another roll of the eyes, Zara took the phone back and rested it against her shoulder while she continued fixing her bra.

'Yes, my boss is a woman. Claire Dearing. I told you that when I got the job. I'm sure countless times since, as well. No, I've never mentioned having another boss. Why on Earth did you assume a man? Yes, I definitely fucked her. What? It doesn't count as fucking if it's with a woman?' Claire felt herself cringe with every single mention of fucking. It seemed to sound even harsher in the Zara's clipped British accent. 'What do you mean you thought I was over this? Fuck off, Alec. Being bi is not a fucking phase. No, I don't intend to shag every woman I meet. No, I don't need to just get this off my chest and I'll come running fucking back. Back to what anyway? Why do you think I got a job on a fucking dinosaur island in the middle of the fucking Pacific Ocean? It's better than going anywhere near you.' From out of the corner of her eye, she saw Claire gather her clothes from the floor; sheet still wrapped around her, and head to the bathroom to dress. She held up her finger silently, while continuing to nod along to the man on the end of the phone. 'No, you know what, Alec. I don't care that your daddy offered to be my reference, or that your precious mummy was going to pay for the pissing wedding. I will live on a god damn dinosaur island for the rest of my life if it means never seeing you again. Piss off.'

Claire watched with widened eyes as her assistant finally hung up the phone and threw it onto the bed. She took a deep breath, and ran her hand through her hair with a sigh before straightening up. 'Your itinerary is on the desk. The meeting at half nine got pushed back to half ten, so you have enough time to shower, remove make-up etc. If you give me your key, I can fetch you some clothes and any notes from your room…'

'The wedding's off?' Claire asked quietly.

'The whole ghastly thing is off.'

'You didn't have to do that.'

'I'm a drunken cheat, yes, but I'm not a liar.'

'I wasn't accusing you of either.' Claire paused momentarily. 'Will Alec be alright? He sounded angry.'

'I didn't mean to do that earlier, let him talk to you. He gets these absurd ideas in his head, and he'd have just phoned all day if I hadn't…'

'It's fine. It was fine. Woke me up, at least.' She stopped talking again; clearly aware of the growing awkwardness between them now the drama of the earlier phone was gone. 'The suit I want is already hanging up on the wardrobe. The black one. Maybe the white shirt with it though, rather than the red one I set out yesterday.'

'Yes. Of course. I'll be right back.' Zara nodded, gesturing behind to the door.

'I'll be in the shower,' Claire explained unnecessarily, before retreating into the bathroom and closing the door with a sigh.

* * *

In the shower, with the spray of water on her body, washing away the night before, Claire finally felt able to think. _Zara was single_. Zara had also only just ended her long-term relationship through a very angry, very irate phone call. _But she was now single_. Claire couldn't deny the thought caused her to smile. Last night had been drunk and crazy, but people don't cheat on their fiancés just because of alcohol, surely? There has to be something more. Some degree of feeling. Maybe not enough to jump straight into anything, that wasn't Claire's style anyway, it would hardly fit in with her schedule, but enough to consider it. Enough to start building something.

But the awkward feeling between them…Claire could hardly look at Zara without a burning blush spreading across her cheeks. She could even feel it in the shower, just thinking about the night before again. And Zara was her employee, her assistant, it could never work. Zara probably didn't even want it to work. She was single again, she'd want to explore. _Explore? Really?_ Pursue her options. Be alone again. She wouldn't want Claire. Especially if she got to know exactly how Claire was…

'Claire?' A knock on the bathroom door brought the Operations Manager back from her thoughts. 'I've got your suit.'

'I'm in the shower still. I'll be out in about 5 minutes.'

'I need to speak to you before then, Claire.' Zara listened outside the door for a response and, when none came, she took a deep breath and spoke. 'I'm sorry for this morning. It should have waited, I know, but it couldn't. I didn't want to go any longer being with Alec. Being with anyone other than you, actually. Last night was strange, but last night was everything I've wanted since I met you. I just hadn't realised until I saw you yesterday in that dress.' In the bathroom, Claire had turned the water off, and was stood listening silently in the shower to the woman on the other side of the door. 'But then I couldn't go another day and not be able to be with you. I should never have let you go on any of the awful dates you did, as much as I told you to at the time. I should have told you then that you're worth one hundred more than any man on that island, however much you may doubt it. You're intelligent, and you're beautiful, and I'm sorry that I have never told you any of this before. If all of this sounds absurd to you, I can resign today, I won't ask for you to spend one more moment with me. But I couldn't let this remain unsaid any longer.' Zara stopped, breathing deeply, aware of the silence from the bathroom. She knocked on the door again. 'Claire?'

There were a couple of moments more before the door opened slowly, and Claire stood in a towel, water still glistening on her pale skin. She met Zara's eyes with her own, the droplets on her eyelashes looking almost like tears to her assistant. 'There's no way I'm letting you resign, Ms. Young. Not with so long left on your contract. Plus, there's no-one else who will understand my itineraries quite the way you do.'

'And what does that mean for everything else?'

'It means…I can't believe you got all of that from such an ugly dress.' Claire could feel her heart pounding against her ribs, her breathing hitch as she took Zara's hand and placed it gently on her waist. 'And it means this.'

Claire, for the first time possibly in her life, was the one to initiate the kiss. She pressed her lips against her assistant's, who seemed oblivious to the water droplets that still rested against them. The Operations Manager let her towel fall; let Zara's fingers at her bare skin, before pulling her into the bathroom and closing the door behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

'So, Claire, did you enjoy the weekend?' Claire raised her eyebrows questioningly at her employer sat opposite her. Masrani waited for a few minutes before laughing at the Operations Manager. 'The conference? Genetic management? I know it was a few weeks ago now, but I haven't had chance to ask you.'

'Oh, of course.' Claire smiled falsely, inwardly cursing herself for forgetting to mention something so important. 'My assistant, Ms Young, should have sent you a copy of the report I wrote up. Didn't you get it?'

'I don't care about any reports, Claire. How was New York?' He leant back, still laughing.

'New York?'

'I don't care about management in genetics engineering. We're the World leaders of that here at Jurassic World anyway. I only sent you there for a weekend away from work. I knew you'd never take the time off if I asked you.' Masrani sat forward again, his face suddenly serious. 'You've been working too hard here, Claire. I've noticed all your late nights and early mornings. I know this is a big operation, but I don't want you worrying your life away over it. Jurassic World is a fun park, you have to have some fun running it or what's the point?'

'I enjoy working. I want to do a good job.'

'And you are, Claire, the best job. Better than I ever imagined. But that's not an excuse for not living.' He smiled again, and Claire returned it weakly. 'So New York? How was New York? What did you do?'

'Good. New York was good.' She paused, unsure as to how much detail Masrani wanted before he'd stop questioning her. In her mind, all she could see was Zara naked before her, pushing her against the shower, holding Claire's hands above her head as she kissed along her collar bone. 'My assistant was looking for a wedding dress. That took most of the time, really.'

'Family values, just what I like from my employees.' He was almost beaming now. 'Did she find a dress?'

'No. The wedding has been called off, actually.'

'The wedding was called off after the trip?' Masrani gave Claire a small nod, a smirk on his face. 'So New York was much wilder than you're letting on, Claire?'

* * *

'Claire, I've organised your meetings for tomorrow and booked the conference room for next Thursday like you wanted,' Zara called as she walked into Claire's apartment that evening. She'd often slipped in and out of the apartment suite long before New York, having been given a key almost as soon as she'd started the job. Claire had said she couldn't guarantee she'd always been on hand to let her assistant in, especially before meetings in the morning. Though she wasn't usually absent in the evenings, not without having told Zara first. 'Claire? Are you here?'

'Have you told Masrani?' Claire stepped into the doorway of the living area suddenly.

'Shit, Claire, you could have answered me.'

'Have you told Masrani about New York? About us?'

'Yes, Claire, I decided I'd tell a man I've never spoken to aside from exchanging pleasantries, a man who happens to be my employer as well as yours, that I fucked his Park Operations Manager on the trip to New York and every night since.' Zara would have laughed had it not been for the fear on Claire's face. 'I've also sent a staff email, just to warn you.'

'This is serious,' Claire snapped and turned back into the living area, storming to the window facing the park.

'Claire!' Her assistant rolled her eyes and followed her, stopping before she reached her; aware of the space Claire needed when she was upset. 'You don't honestly think…?'

'He was asking about New York. He made hints.'

'He paid for that trip, of course he'd ask.' At Claire's continued silence, Zara sighed, eyes rolling once more, before asking, 'what did he say? What were the exact words?'

'He asked what we did there. I mentioned the dress shopping, and then the wedding being called off. He said New York must have been wild.'

'So your boss, the owner of Jurassic World and the man who pays my cheques, probably thinks we got drunk and I fucked around on my fiancé.' Zara couldn't keep the exasperation from her voice as she spoke this time, not that Claire noticed. 'And before you ask again, he will assume it was with a man.'

'You think that's all he meant?' Claire turned back to look at her assistant, a look of relief across her face. 'That's all he thinks?'

'Yes, I'm sure he thinks you're still the picture of heterosexuality.' The dark haired woman couldn't keep her bitterness at bay; something about the gratitude on Claire's face caused her stomach to turn. 'Would it matter, though? If he knew? They're not going to fire you for fucking a woman, Claire.'

'No, but they might do for fucking my assistant.'

 _So Claire had noticed her attitude_. It only seemed to rile her further. 'Well, I'm sorry I'm only a lowly assistant, rather than some CEO somewhere. Maybe then you wouldn't act so embarrassed by me.'

'I didn't mean that.' The manager's face fell as her assistant spoke, the look of relief falling into remorse. 'You know I would never think that, Zara. You know how highly I think of you, in every way.' At Zara's sullen silence, Claire moved away from the window to take a seat on the leather sofa by the wall. 'Work is Hell right now. It's not an excuse, but I just can't help thinking about it. Memo after memo, meeting after meeting. So many new investors to charm.'

'I know, Claire, I arrange your meetings.' Zara gave a half smile and sat down beside the red-haired woman, taking her hand in her own.

'People are bored of dinosaurs. Imagine telling John Hammond 20 years ago that one day people would get bored of dinosaurs. But it's happened. They've seen the T-Rex. They've stood in awe of the brachiosaurs. They want more. They want them bigger, faster, more teeth. Visitor figures have fallen far faster than any of us could have predicted when the park opened. We thought we'd have years to combat this problem. But we don't.' Claire could feel the tears forming in her eyes, the frustration she'd been feeling for months finally able to spill out. 'And I don't know what to do about that.'

'So get a bigger dinosaur. A T-Rex…extreme?' At Claire's questioning glance, she had to shrug. 'Ok, fine, a Giganotosaurus. I'm not a complete idiot, Claire; I have learnt the names of some of these things.'

'We looked into it. Palaeontologists haven't found enough complete DNA to engineer one.' The two women sat in silence for few minutes. 'Which dinosaur scares you, Zara? If you've paid close enough attention to any…'

'The mosasaur,' Zara replied in a heartbeat, without any thought. 'I hate the mosasaur.'

'Why?'

'You can't see it, not until it's too late.' Zara sat back, staring straight ahead as she spoke. 'If you fell in that tank, you would never know when it was coming. You might have hours. You might only have mere seconds. But there's no way to tell. Not until you feel the water stir beneath you, and hear the roar around you. And then it would be too late. I can't imagine anything worse.'

Claire sat back also, but her face was turned towards her assistant. One arm snaked around her and pulled her close, her hand stroking Zara's long, raven hair. 'They want to engineer a new dinosaur. Make a genetic hybrid. Something new for the park. I won't let them make another mosasaur.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 _ **I know this is rather short. This is sadly probably going to be my last chapter. I'm so busy, I just can't promise I can continue it any further. But I hope you enjoy.**_

Claire woke to the sound of conversation buzzing. Even half-asleep, she knew that it would be her assistant on her mobile. _She never switched the damn thing off_. But then, she didn't switch hers off that often either.

She opened her eyes groggily to watch her assistant pace, phone against her ear. At the sight of Claire awake, Zara nodded, smiling. She started speaking quicker on the phone, as if to hurry up the end of the conversation.

'Yes. Yes. No, of course I'll remember. Couldn't forget.' She walked to the edge of the bed as she spoke, leaning down to give the Operations Manager a kiss on the head. 'Yes, bye. See you soon.'

'Who was that?' Claire sat up just long enough in bed for Zara to climb in, before lying down again to rest her head on her lap. As if by instinct, Zara's hand went to stroke her boss' fiery hair, still naturally curly due to the early hour.

'Just my mom.'

'Are you going home to visit?' Claire asked, the 'see you soon' playing on her mind. 'You haven't filled in any holiday request forms.'

'Because that's what you're concerned about right now.' Zara rolled her eyes as she spoke, voice dripping with sarcasm. 'No, she's coming to visit. Have to take advantage of that staff discount sooner or later. Oh, and don't worry, Claire, I've told her all about you. She's very excited to meet you.'

'You haven't?' She sat up immediately, eyes wide, only to watch as Zara gave a smirk. 'You are an ass, Ms Young.'

'Well you're still here…'

'I love you being an ass.' Claire shook her head as Zara's smirk grew wider and she leaned in to kiss the other woman hard on the lips.

As they drew apart, Zara whispered, 'I'm glad you included the last part of that.'

'Well I do love you being…oh.' Claire stopped suddenly, aware of the three words that had left her lips only seconds ago. They now felt heavy in the air between the two women.

'Have you ever been in love, Claire? With someone, not with your career.'

'Yes, of course.' _She was 35 years old. What a ridiculous question to…_ 'No. I haven't. I thought I was once. But I don't think I was, not really.' It had been over 7 years since she'd thought of him, and now she could barely believe that she was saying everything to the woman in bed with her, hand resting on her leg. 'I was working, he was working, we came together because of that but it just always seemed to come in the way. That's what we loved. Never each other.' Claire paused to look at Zara. 'You have, of course.'

'I've always been with Alec.' Zara shrugged, as if that explained everything. At Claire's silence, she continued. 'There was a girl at university, I suppose. We had fun. It wasn't serious. Who knows themselves enough to have anything serious at uni? And then Alec of course was easy to fall onto, nothing there.' Claire was still silent. 'What are you thinking?'

She looked up momentarily, as if finding nerve, before looking back at Zara, their eyes meeting steadily. 'So you've never been in love? Never?'

'As often as you have.'

'Well maybe I've been in love once…'

'With a man or a dinosaur?'

'With a woman.' Zara could feel her heart pounding underneath her pyjama shirt. Her eyes were still fixed on Claire's. 'Maybe I still am in love.'

'I don't think love can be a maybe, Claire,' she felt herself whisper, though to accomplish what she wasn't sure. 'I think love is a definite thing.'

'I love you, Zara.'

She wanted to hear it back. To know her words were not to waste. But instead, she felt lips against hers, arms around her waist, hands underneath her own pyjamas for fingers to caress her bare skin. And then there were lips against her ear, breath warm, and the almost silent whisper of four little words.

 _'I love you too.'_


End file.
